Bills lose NT Kyle Williams for season

Kyle Williams, perhaps the best defensive player many people don’t know much about, was placed on Injured Reserve by the Bills, the team announced Tuesday afternoon. Though Williams hasn’t talked about his injury, saying only that it’s bothered him since training camp, it’s thought that bone spurs have been irritating his Achilles tendon, and last week, Williams wasn’t sure if surgery would be needed.

It’s an unfortunate blow for Williams, who said last week that he was still hopeful he could play this season. But the Pro Bowl nose tackle, who had missed only two games in the previous five years, apparently wasn’t healing in a way that would be conducive for him to play this season.

Even if the average fan -- or, considering he finally got to the Pro Bowl only last year, the average player -- doesn’t give him his credit, the Bills recognized his importance before this season, signing him to a six-year, $39 million contract with $17 million guaranteed.

The good news (if there is such a thing in a case like this) is that Buffalo will get to give No. 3 draft pick Marcell Dareus more action in Williams’ spot. But the loss of Williams definitely will hurt.

"You never breathe easy when you lose an All-Pro player," Gailey told the team website. "That is a huge loss for our football team when he’s not in the game. Not only by his play, but by his leadership and the energy he brings to the game."

Considering the Bills are in the thick of the AFC East race, the first time Williams has been a part of something ilke that during his time in Buffalo, the injury is extra frustrating for him.

“Sitting around watching that massacre was not fun,” Williams told the AP last week. “I can tell you, my wife had to leave and take my kids to go to dinner.”